Facing Destiny
by Chatterbox Angel
Summary: The magic should have killed him, but it didn't. Instead, it lit the fires of vengeance. The second time 1000 years was stolen from him, it was an accident, and the one who cursed him is the only one who can cure him. Will his own anger be the cause of a second damnation? ShinKai AU
1. Prologue

In the beginning, there was only one realm, one place where all beings resided in harmony. It wasn't some magical Garden of Eden free of suffering and strife, but there was peace of a kind between all races until the Day of Destiny came. Born to each race on that day was a child who would grow up with the wish to see this peace end. Eventually, these children would unite and easily accomplish their goal.

In a place full of creatures whom had never known the true meaning of doubt or mistrust, it was easy for the skillful manipulators to turn all the races against each other. In no time at all, a great war had broken out, and the death toll grew more quickly than a wild fire in a dead forest. Women, children – none escaped the battles. All had to fight to survive just another day. Neighbors who knew one's weakness would exploit it at the first chance they got. Friends who knew one's most closely guarded secrets would expose them at the drop of a hat. No one could be trusted if they were of a different race. No one.

The Gods watched in horror as this war waged on for several months before they finally decided on what to do. The war was ended as each race of creatures was forced into a realm specifically made for them. Once separated, the war was erased from living memory, but the enmity for other races was too deeply engrained in the hearts and minds of all to be purged. This enmity would pass down to the future generations for all eternity and none would remember why.

The Gods would have prevented this if they could, but they were limited in what they could do. As powerful as the Gods were, they were answerable to the Balance of the Universe. And the Balance had dictated that the Manipulators were to be left alive, nor could their actions be undone. So, the Gods could only attempt to minimize the damage, and separation had been the best solution they could come up with.

So, the once single, unified realm was now split into several. The Realm of Light and Clarity. The Realm of Witches and Seers. The Realm of Darkness and the Unknown. The Realm of Changers. The Realm of Unlings. And the Realm of Humans.

Each of these realms had been created by the God or Gods responsible for the creatures within. Each race had been brought into existence by a God, but only the two newest races were true offspring of the Gods. Children of them, but not as powerful. The Balance would not allow that, so these races were lowered to the position of demi-gods. These two races were known as the Children of Light and the Children of Darkness.

The Children of Light were all mostly the same, cursed by the second part of their lineage: clarity. Clearness. The lack of obscurity and ambiguity. All pale, with light grey eyes and soft, blonde hair. Their clothes and world always of a pale hue, no matter what the color. Their wings were always translucent, and it was near impossible to see the patterns that varied as much as wings of butterflies. The minute differences were vastly overshadowed by the overwhelming sameness.

Now, the Children of Darkness were as different as different could be. As the second part of their heritage suggested, the race birthed from the God of Darkness and Unknown was filled with creatures within and beyond human imagination. Each family as strange and odd as the next, and when two Children of Darkness mated, the offspring took on the genes from the stronger family. But this didn't hinder the species in anyway, as new families were always popping up out of nowhere, as was the nature of their kind.

It is with this race our story begins. Eons and eons into the future. With a Child of Darkness who sought the truth more persistently and suffered for it more than any other before him.


	2. Chapter 1

Facing Destiny

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito or any of the characters within either series. That happy power belongs to Goshou Aoyama. However, I do own the plot of this fic, the world in which it takes place, the original magical creatures who live there, and all the OCs found within.

Chapter 1

Shinichi Kudo was a Child of Darkness who had been forced to go through the painful experience of puberty not once, but twice. A little more than 1000 years prior, Shinichi had been exposed to Apotoxin, a magic specifically designed to kill demi-gods but would harm other races as well. However, it had malfunctioned on him and merely caused him to de-age 1000 years. From a human's perspective, he had gone from looking like a seventeen year old to a seven year old, and there was no known cure.

The Manipulators were the ones who had thus cursed him to live through two childhoods. They did not know this, though. After his discovery of them and subsequent shrinking into a child, the Balance worked in a way that, for once, did not favor the Manipulators, and they truly believed him to be dead. So, he continued his pursuit of the truth relatively undisturbed, but even though Shinichi was working directly against them this time, he could only get so far. The Manipulators had created a realm of their own after the split, and the shrunken Child of Darkness knew naught where it was. He could only trace their actions through the known realms. But this never once was deterred him from his path. In fact, the only thing it did was make him more reckless in pursuing his two most fervent desires: revenge and to bring the Manipulators to their knees.

His next trip was to be to the human realm; the Child of Darkness had noticed that of all realms, that one had seen the most activity from the Manipulators as of late. The cause was some outlandish human thief known as Kaitou Kid who vaguely interested Shinichi. This thief was peculiar for a human: as a thief who not only broadcasted his activities but had a very obvious set of strong, unshakeable morals, as a human who had imagination, and as another soul the Balance allowed to survive and fight against the Manipulators.

In the last few days during those very rare moments in which the Child of Darkness would admit to himself that he needed a break, he had spent a few calm minutes idly wondering what had shaped the man behind the Kaitou Kid mask to be the way he was. But that was where the wondering stopped. He had been aware of the thief's presence in the human world for ten years, but his activity had been rare and spread out. And that wasn't the Kid that interested Shinichi; it was the one that had been active the last six months. Although, he hadn't been aware of the shift in identity behind the mask until an incident a few days prior.

Megure-keibu had come to Shinichi's alias, human high school detective Conan Edogawa, for help in deciphering a heist note. What had stumped the police for days Shinichi had unpuzzled in mere minutes. After reluctantly agreeing to attend the heist, Shinichi had done some research on his would be opponent. Although a human would never be a threat to him, the habits of 2,700 years were engrained within him.

From his research, he learned that Kaitou Kid had gone from conducting maybe one heist every two or three months to at least one, maybe two, each week. The targets became much more specific, and the Manipulators' activity and attendance had skyrocketed. Although, none of this was specifically stated in any article, Shinichi knew was signs to look for, and it was easy enough to connect the dots. And it was also from reading these articles that Shinichi had discovered the aforementioned things that interested him about Kid.

No longer reluctant to go, he had decided to attend all future Kaitou Kid heists, even if the police didn't know he was going to be there. After all, Nakamori-keibu didn't take kindly to "useless, bratty, high school detectives" at _his _Kid heists. Of course, the inspector would have to deal with him publicly at least once. After all, Shinichi had promised Megure he would go.

Anyway, just as he was opening a door to the human realm, a hand appeared on his shoulder. Turning his head, Shinichi was unsurprised to see his father, Yuusaku Kudo, standing there. The man often made sure to know what his son was up to.

"Where are you going this time?" Yuusaku asked, and by way of an answer, Shinichi handed him a copy of the heist note. It was but a few minutes later that his father burst out laughing. "Rather clever little thing, isn't he? Especially compared to the one before him."

"What do you mean?" Shinichi asked and his father produced a heist note himself in return, mentioning that it was from about a year ago. Reading it, Shinichi could easily tell it was written by a different hand. Dull and unimaginative, in direct contrast with the riddle he'd be given. "Yes, he is rather clever. At first, I only saw him as a bit imaginative, but this new Kaitou Kid obviously has quite the intellect. So very intriguing now that I think about it further."

"Don't fall in love with him," Yuusaku said, completely throwing Shinichi for a loop.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. "Why would I fall for something as shallow as a human heart? They're all the same."

"My best friend fell, if you recall," his father replied. "And you have just shown more interest in this human in a few minutes than any other single creature in the last 2,738 years you've been alive."

"It's his mind that intrigues me, that is all," Shinichi replied. "Don't worry, I would never fall for a human heart." With that said, he departed for the human world, completely missing his father's last words of warning.

Kaito had a few minutes left before he needed to leave for the heist when he found an odd box he had never afore seen in the hidden room. It was labeled "APTX" with a note that said, "For when you come across something you truly can't handle." He was used to finding these little notes from his father, and they were something that gave Kaito a great deal of comfort. The were proof that his father really hadn't abandoned them and did care for both him and Chikage. Anyway, the only thing Kaito found inside the box was four small red and white pills. That confused him. How were pills supposed to help him?

He wouldn't have time to find the answer to that question though, because the alarm went off for him, indicating it was time to leave. So, Kaito donned the last of his Kid outfit, and set the box aside as he gathered a few more smokebombs. It never hurt to be a little extra prepared after all. He would decide what to do with box later and departed without giving it a second thought.

When he reached the Hyde City hotel that night, the pre-heist chaos was already in full swing, courtesy of Nakamore-keibu and the Kid Task Force. Slipping through the rooftop and making his way to a lower floor was easy as always, but there were more lookouts than normal. And he noted, with the distinct feeling of being impressed, that they were much more strategically placed than normal. Too bad Nakamori-keibu never thought to look in the air ducts. As soon as he thought that, he heard a nearby vent being removed. Man, the inspector was doing far better than normal today. Well, it was still too late. He was already at the next downward shaft, and he easily slipped out of sight.

Down below a few more floors of vental shaft in the room where the targeted gem was being displayed, there was a heated exchange going on between a well-known inspector and even more famous high school detective. And, oh, if looks could kill, the inspector would have been dead several times over. Ginzo Nakamori's angry stare may make his task force cower in fear, but it was no match for the sinister, deadly glare of Conan Edogawa.

In the last several hours, the two males had argued over every aspect of the heist security possible, and despite being right at every turn, Conan had to fight tooth and nail to get Nakamori to even consider changing the smallest details of his cookie-cutter plans. So, all Conan managed to convince the inspector to change were the positions of the police, the placement of the cameras, and the searching of the air-ducts to be included. Sure, they hadn't found the thief yet, but they had narrowed down the places he could be more than ever before. All thanks to Conan, but Nakamori-keibu didn't see any of that. He just saw it as a failure to capture Kaitou Kid.

Well, none of this surprised the Child of Darkness. He had researched more than just the thief in preparation; he had studied the police records as well. And to be honest, with the way Nakamori ran things, Conan would have been more surprised if the thief was actually captured. Really. What were the police thinking? Set up a bunch of superfluous security and then shout about the details to anyone even half-willing to listen. Wait for Kaitou Kid to appear and grab the jewel before enacting the proven to be useless dog-pile on the bandit routine. Finally, chase after a thief who was obviously playing with them and allow said thief to escape. Every single time.

Conan continued his glaring contest with the inspector until he noticed that it was only five minutes before the appointed time. With a sigh, the pseudo high school detective broke eye-contact with Nakamori, moved to what he judged to be the best observation point in the room, and said, "Fine. We'll do it your way and just wait for the damned thief. I won't get in your way. Just don't get in mine."

"That's why you're acting all superior!" Nakamori roared as though he had just figured something out. "Being a famous high school detective surrounded in mystery that makes girls worship the ground you walk on isn't enough for you. You want the fame that will come to whomever captures Kaitou Kid! Well, I won't allow it. I've been chasing him for more than an entire decade!"

'And I've been chasing those he opposes for 100 of those decades! People you've never noticed even once in all your time of chasing him, despite how much attention he calls to them!' Conan shouted in his head but held his tongue. When he was finally calm enough to speak without revealing things which shouldn't be revealed, the Child of Darkness said through gritted teeth, "I do not care about fame, nor do I welcome or chase it. I am only here as a favor to Megure-keibu, who came to me for help after you failed to decipher the heist note. And you would do well to remember that the only reason I am famous is that many other people have died, usually because of murder. What kind of person would be happy with fame brought about for that reason?"

"Which is why you want Kid!" Nakamori insisted with that single-minded determinism he was famous for. Of course, he ignored everything the pseudo high school detective uttered except the last two sentences.

"You don't get it," Conan commented exasperatedly as he felt a sudden shift in the air. "And he's here now."

Mere moments after he spoke, the thief appeared with his signature puff of pink spoke and the shock of pure white from his suit. Neither Conan nor Kid blinked as the Task Force, obviously forgetting all of Conan's warnings, all dove for the thief simultaneously. As always, they got caught in their own trap with a little something extra added in courtesy of Kid. Conan was pretty sure that it was chocolate pudding this time.

With the jewel in hand, Kaitou Kid leapt from the display, and Conan easily followed the movement with his eyes. Forgetting about the limits he placed upon himself every time he traveled to the human realm, the Child of Darkness launched himself into the air, straight toward the thief. He easily came within reach and caught ahold of Kid's left wrist. There was a collective gasp of shock from the Task Force, and the thief did look a bit surprised. However, with a skillful twist of his wrist, he was free, and he used something hidden under his suit to change velocity and shoot in different direction.

Slightly annoyed with the human limitations, Conan remembered that he had to worry about a landing. Giving up on a mid-air battle with the thief, he focused on landing safely, and both he and Kaitou Kid touched back down on the ground gracefully. The thief grinned at him then and turned to run toward an escape path Conan hadn't been able to convince the hard-headed inspector to consider. With a frustrated growl, he raced after the thief, determined to catch him regardless of his self-imposed human limitations.

As he chased after Kaitou Kid, the Child of Darkness leapt multiple steps in a single bound to avoid trip wires, ducked to avoid hanging traps, had to perform a series of very impressive acrobatics to keep from setting off the barely noticeable motion-sensing lasers, and kept track of the white billowing of the thief's cape. This upward ascent of stairs broke off into several paths, creating a maze for those unfamiliar with the building's layout. The inspector had underestimated the thief's intellect and assumed he would be unable to navigate through it. Obviously, Nakamori had been very, very wrong.

The pseudo high school detective continued chasing after Kaitou Kid and avoiding every trap until he finally reached the roof, the white-clad man's favorite escape route. As he opened the door slowly and silently, slipping out onto the roof unnoticed, Conan witnessed a sight not yet seen afore by anyone but the moon, the thief, and his stalkers. Kid was holding the gem up in the moonlight and staring through it. He looked for only a few moments longer before dropping his arm and making the jewel disappear in yet another signature puff of pink smoke as he let out a heavy sigh.

"How long does it take you to set up all those traps anyway?" Conan asked, choosing not to comment on the theif's odd actions, rather enjoying the startled twitch that ran through Kaitou Kid's body. It was the only thing that visibly showed his shock at being snuck up on.

"Why no time at all," the thief replied with a smirk, quickly recovering from his slip up, much to Conan's amusement. "I am a magician after all."

"Yeah, and unlike most people, I'm well aware of the thought and preparation that has to go into a magic trick to make it work properly," Conan replied as he took a few steps forward. "It's quite impressive actually, being able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time."

"Thank you for the kind words Meitantei-san," Kid replied, smirk replaced by a gentleman's smile while Conan just sighed. He supposed he should have expected a nickname. This Kid had already handed out a few to other high school detectives. "But where's your sense of wonder? Sense of awe? Sense of amazement? The beauty of magic is in the fantasy."

Conan managed to hold back the biting retort that flashed to the forefront of his mind, but he still stared at the thief with a deadpan expression. There was a stare off for a few moments until a loud bellow from several floors below was heard. Nakamori and the task force had encountered the first of the traps Conan had managed to avoid. Kid chuckled for a few moments before glancing at his newest detective again, but when he saw the still deadpan expression, the thief's face morphed into a full on pout. However, his eyes were a different story; there was a mischievous glint there, and Conan soon found out why.

One minute all was quiet, and the next, the pseudo high school detective was surrounded by a moving mass of pure white feathers. The birds flew around him for several seconds before dispersing and flying in every which direction, excited to be free. The doves belonging to the moonlit magician were called back and began obediently returning to him, but then, they sensed it…him…another one like them…a new comrade and changed direction, bee-lining toward Conan while completely ignoring their owner's downright shock.

Knowing what was coming, Conan held up his arms for the doves as every last one of them perched on whatever available surface of his body they could. Smiling, the Child of Darkness cooed softly at the birds who hooted back playfully while remaining relatively still and calm. This slightly amazed Conan, that an entire flock of does could be so well trained by a single person. He could sense their unwavering loyalty towards Kaitou Kid. He had to be their only master, and he had to be a very loving one as well. Most birds were fickle-hearted in nature. To win over so many took a special kind of person. Conan was happy for them that they found such a master.

It also inspired in him a new goal to reach now that he was here talking to the thief and actually realizing that tangling with the unusually imaginative human had actually been rather fun. To obtain all the information Kid had on the Manipulators was the goal Conan had originally come with, but now, his second, and more important, goal was to make the thief stop taunting them. They were far too dangerous to be dealt with by a human, especially alone and on such a regular basis as this new Kaitou Kid did. And Conan suddenly couldn't imagine this realm without the playful thief.

"OK. Kaitou Kid, you win," the Child of Darkness said with a smile, noting a sudden, odd change of rhythm in the thief's heartbeat. "I am amazed. These doves of yours are truly amazing. I might even go so far as to say their master is as well. But Kaitou Kid-san, we need to have a serious talk."

And as he said that, Conan ushered the doves to return to their owner. They did so without a second thought, and as he was once again surrounded by his birds, the thief became ever more confused.

He knew of the famous, mysterious high school detective, but this was the first heist Conan Edogawa had ever attended. And as far as he understood it, Meitantei-san was only here as a favor for Megure-keibu. Kid had no idea as to what the detective might want to talk about, but it was obvious from his tone and expression that whatever it was had to be both important and serious. Since the detective hadn't made any serious movies to capture him in the time they had been on the roof, the thief was cautiously optimistic about the safety of a short conversation with Conan.

"What do you need to talk about Meitantei-san?" the thief asked. He was inviting serious conversation, but his voice still held that distinctively playful Kid tone.

"The people who show up at your heists that you lure out rather than invite," Conan answered, noticing the instant spike of tension in the air that came from the thief. "The ones who just happened to be absent tonight."

"How do you know about them?" Kaitou Kid's words came out extremely slow, and all hint of humor was gone. For the first time ever at a Kid heist, his tone was dead serious.

"The clues were always there, Kid-san, you made sure of that," Conan said and then paused for a moment, considering whether he should drop the other bomb too. Well, maybe the revealing of information in this situation was like a band-aid, better to rip it all off (or expose it all) at once. Decision made, he continued on, "Especially after _you_ started thieving six months ago."

The thief stopped breathing for a moment he was so shocked after hearing that. The detective _knew_ he was a different person behind the mask, just from reading a few news articles. No one else had even guessed except Hakuba, and that was only after obtaining a strand of his hair. Who was Meitantei-san? He was about to ask, but shouts were finally heard coming from the other side of the door to the roof stairwell. As much as he loved his task force, they always did have the worst timing. He really should have laid more traps. Sighing, the thief said, "We'll have to take a rain-check Meitantei-san, but believe me when I say I'll be in touch."

And before Conan could blink, Kid dropped a smoke bomb laced with sleeping gas, determined to escape before Nakamori reappeared. He wasn't at his best after the exchange that just took place, and despite other people's opinions on the matter, the thief never took risks he deemed unnecessary. The magic tricks and traps were a necessary part of the show; it was just an added bonus that he enjoyed them. Dealing with the task force when he wasn't at the top of his game and already had the gem, that was not necessary.

Unfortunately, his plans for a quick escape and quiet night of further pondering at home were derailed by a loud, agonized scream of pain from his newest detective. The pink smoke was swirling around Conan Edogawa in a somehow sinister manner, and the detective's body was convulsing and twitching violently. Panic flooding his veins at such a basic trick gone wrong, Kaito rushed toward Conan, and the smoke mysteriously dispersed the instant he got there. But that didn't hold his attention for long as he noticed that Conan's body was…SHRINKING!

Pounding footsteps were getting dangerously close, and Kaito cursed the situation he now found himself in. Picking up the detective who was now in the form of an unconscious child, the thief jumped off the roof, opened his hang glider, and escaped into the night.

A/N: Hello and welcome to the end of Chapter 1 of Facing Destiny. I'm sorry this took so long to get posted, but I write stuff out before I type it up, and I've been handwriting future chapters more than I've been typing stuff up lately. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to future ones. Uh…see you in Chapter 2 if you so desire, and until then, the usual be

I love reviewers, but I do have a request. I would really love for someone to seriously critique my work. It doesn't have to stop at constructive criticism. I'd love for someone to really pick apart my work and tell me every little thing they hated, what needs to be improved, and what parts of my writing they liked best. Believe me when I say I love all reviews, and it's really nice to know people appreciate my work. However, I'm a far cry from being perfect, and there's always room to improve. Also, if I can get better, I can give better fan fiction to my readers. Anyway, thanks again for reading this fan fiction and hopefully you seriously considered my request.


	3. Chapter 2

Facing Destiny

Chapter 2

Flying away from the scene of the heist, it took Kaito about two seconds to decide to take Conan home with him and set the…shrunken high school detective up in the secret room. It would be the height of foolishness to take him to a hospital, and unlike most criminals, the thief didn't know of any discreet doctors. Thanks to his mistress, Lady Luck, Kaito had never been injured too seriously that he couldn't take care of it himself. So, the secret room was the best place for him to take Conan where he would be safe, where he would be out of sight, and where Kaito could keep an eye on him. Somehow, this transformation was his fault, and the thief was going to take responsibility. He would be damned if anything more happened to Conan Edogawa due to a trick of his that had gone horribly wrong in completely unforeseeable ways.

Speaking of unforeseen, Kaito wondered exactly what the hell had caused the detective to de-age about ten years as he touched down on the roof of his house. He slipped inside and made his way to the room on autopilot, trying to think of anything that could have led to his current predicament. There had been nothing unusual about his heist, except for the addition of Edogawa himself, and everything he had used on the heist had been handmade by Kaito. None of it was leftovers from his father that were sometimes laced with surprises that he couldn't uncover, despite his best preparations, until the trick was pulled. Besides, it was a fact that Kaito never would have used a chemical that shrunk people, and he hadn't even known such a thing existed. So, what had gone wrong?

It hit him like a ton of bricks as he was just finishing up tucking the shrunken detective into bed. Other than the appearance of Conan Edogawa, there _had _been one other extremely strange occurrence, another appearance of a sort…those mysterious little red and white pills he had found just before leaving. The APTX, whatever it was. The thief couldn't fathom _how_ they would be the cause, but he was searching for a magical gem that supposedly granted immortality. He went to school with a witch. He'd just watched a grown teenager shrink to a first grader before his very eyes. He was willing to take whatever explanation he could get, no matter how odd it was.

As soon as he was certain he had done as much as he could for Conan (which was really just tucking him into bed and putting an ice pack on his head to counteract the detective's abnormally high temperature), Kaito made his way over to the place he'd stashed the box of APTX. When he opened it, his skin paled to almost as white as his suit. The sight of a few red and white pills lying in a case shouldn't have filled him with cold dread, but it did. The problem wasn't the sight of the pills, but their number. There were only three of them. One was missing.

For several minutes after his discovery, the thief just stood there, staring dumbfounded at the case with only _three_ pills while his mind was a gibbering mass, a jumbled mess of thoughts all related to the question, "What the hell was going on here?" But his brain eventually reminded him that knowing the cause was, at the very least, better than knowing nothing at all. So, that meant he should focus on the most important question: What could he do to fix the mess he now found himself in?

And the answer to that was not much until he learned more. Hell, he didn't even know what APTX stood for. Hoping to find some more information but not really expecting it, Kaito began rifling through the box, and when that produced no results, he started dismantling it. To his surprise, a piece of paper was suddenly fluttering to the ground, seeming to have come out of nowhere. Of course, now would be the time he picked up one of his father's more complex tricks. But why would Touichi want to shrink someone not just as a magic trick but for real? Annoyed with thinking of yet another question but still having no answers to any of them, Kaito quickly unfolded the piece of plain white paper.

_Dear Kaito,_

_I see you've found a part of your heritage that is rather dangerous, and it is rather unfortunate. You would have only come across this note after seriously combing through the box of Apotoxin. That's how I made it to be; I had hoped you'd never need to know anything about these pills or where they came from and what they are for. But I left them in case you ever needed protection…protection from magical beings._

_Magical beings do exist in this world. You need to know this and accept it. And these pills, this Apotoxin, which is actually magic itself and not confined to its pill form, is designed to kill some and cause great harm to those magical beings that exist in this world. Like I said before, I left these to you so that you might have some measure of protection against those magical beings that might wish you harm._

_But I must warn you to be very careful with this magic. For there exists no cure to undo its effects. I also must give you a very specific piece of advice in the use of these pills, if you can bring yourself to use them at all. It is highly unlikely that you will ever meet the person I am about to speak of, but if you do, never use the Apotoxin on Shinichi Kudo._

_Shinichi-kun is the son of my best friend, and one of the magical beings the Apotoxin is designed to kill. But it doesn't work properly on him. Still, he has killed for things less painful than what the Apotoxin has put him through. You will be able to recognize him as someone who looks a lot like you – your past, present, or future self, depending on when in your life you meet him, if you meet him. You might meet someone named Conan Edogawa, that's Shinichi-kun. Conan Edogawa is an alias he often uses when…_

_Anyway, never use the Apotoxin on him, _but _if you discover this note to late, run like the very fires of Hell were trying to consume you. And don't let his size fool you; he is quite dangerous._

_Also, if you are anything like me or what I hoped for, you will be stupidly noble and thinking you should stick around to make sure he's okay. For the most part, he is fine. The fever will die down. But he is going to be pissed as hell. He will attack you, and for a time, he won't care if anyone else is hurt in his rampage._

_So, don't be stupidly noble. Run. Run quickly. Run to a place where there's no one else around to get hurt, and pray that by the time he finds you his rage has dissipated quite a bit._

_To my knowledge, you need no words of warning when using this on other magical beings. After the Apotoxin has entered any other magical being's system, they will either die instantly or be too incapacitated to even think about going after you for at least a few centuries._

_Whatever has caused you to find this note, may Lady Luck guide your steps._

_Love,_

_Your father_

Kaito stared at the note in his hands. And stared. And stared. And stared as he tried to figure out what to do. The note provided a few answers but gave way to several more questions. It also presented the phantom thief with a very interesting moral dilemma: whether to stay or go.

Kaito felt that he should stay right down into his bones. He felt like he owed it to the detective to make sure he was okay. But according to his father, Conan Edogawa…Shinichi Kudo was perfectly fine despite the fact that he was once again in the body of a child. Apparently, that was all the Apotoxin would do, and wouldn't actually harm him (kill him?) like it was designed to. Rather, Kaito's accidental use of it meant that he was the one in danger. Him and everyone else near him.

As he thought of his mother sleeping peacefully downstairs, the thief wondered if maybe he should leave. His mother's safety was the only thing that could even make him consider it. But still, Kaito just couldn't convince himself to leave Shinichi behind. The guy, or whatever kind of "magical being" he was, had been in very obvious pain that was completely and totally Kaito's fault, no matter how accidentally it had happened.

So, the thief was pretty much left with one option that would satisfy both his desire to make absolutely sure Shinichi was okay _and_ keep his mother, and others, safe. He would go to a deserted are of the city, and he would take the detective with him. At least, that was the plan until the body on the bed began to stir.

At first, nothing major happened, but then, Shinichi raised his hands to rub away the sleepiness in them. The instant he noticed it was a child's hand, an invisible force filled the room. And in that moment, Kaito realized true fear. The anger, the hate, and the murderous intent were so powerful that they were tangible. They were an invisible force that kept the phantom thief rooted to the spot for several moments.

Then, he sprung into action, dropping both the note he was holding and another smoke bomb containing sleeping gas. After a quick check of the box of magic pills to make sure the final three were still there. Kaito raced from the room via the quickest escape route, still in his Kid outfit. Fleeing left a bitter taste in the thief's mouth, but he could feel how powerful Shinichi Kudo was and instantly knew how right his father had been. The best thing he could do was run.

Meanwhile in the secret room, the Child of Darkness sat in the bed slightly perplexed but very awake and very, very angry. He had vanished the smoke and sleeping gas with a snap of his fingers, the human limitations gone and his powers returned after his brush with magic. It was automatic, a failsafe he used every time he hindered himself in any way.

Shinichi Kudo looked around the room and deduced that he had been brought to the hide out of the phantom thief. So, that human was the one who had shrunk him. How the human had gotten a hold of the Aptoxoin, why he had used it, and the possibility that he hadn't known what it was, the Child of Darkness cared not. He had just been condemned to 500 years of the most agonizing pain a Child of Darkness ever felt in their life. For the third time! Amazing birds and intriguing mind be damned. Kaitou Kid was going to pay!

Finally feeling steady when the last dregs of the magic left his system, Shinichi Kudo stood up in his once again 700-year-old body with a deep scowl. The room he was in was filled with the scents of three people: one very, very faint, one a fair bit stronger, and the last as fresh as a few seconds old. Unfortunately, they were too intermingled for him to track a specific one. The people to whom the scents belonged were very obviously close, and just as their owners would protect each other, the scents were trying to mask each other to hide from him which one had just left. It was an annoying power of a kind that the humans did not know they had. As gifted by the Balance to all but the Gods, lingering hints of an individual could act by its own volition.

Too bad for Kaitou Kid, the current one, that wouldn't work on Shinichi. Glancing around, he spied a piece of a paper on the floor. Picking it up, he sniffed it and discovered two scents on it: the scent of a human and the scent of the Apotoxin. Since the Child of Darkness knew quite well the scent of that accursed magic, it was child's play to identify the distinct scent of his target. Securing the note, Shinichi Kudo easily made his way to the roof of the house, caught Kid's scent on the wind, spread his dark, feathery wings, and launched himself into the night sky. He was a predator. He was danger. He was death. And Kaitou Kid was his most unfortunate prey.

Kaito ran through the city as fast as his legs could carry him. He had a vague idea of where he might be headed, but he wasn't making much progress in getting there. The phantom thief was too panicked to truly think of anything else other than trying to figure out what the hell to do. He really, really didn't want to die…be killed, especially over something that was entirely an accident. But how was he supposed to convince a pissed off magical being not to kill him after he'd effectively stolen however many years of the guy's life?

So completely wrapped up in his own worries, the thief almost plowed straight into a person who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in front of him. As he regained his bearings, Katio noticed that this person was floating in the air, sitting on a broomstick and dressed in odd clothes. She was also laughing heartily at some amusement known only to her.

"Good evening Koizumi-san," Kaito said, addressing the one classmate he had whom knew of his secret identity. Hakuba strongly suspected, but the witch was the only one who knew for sure. "I'm rather in a bit of a hurry, but is there something quick with which you need my help?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," Akako replied as she stopped laughing. "I am here, my dear Kaitou Kid, because you need my help. I know all about your little escapade with Shinichi Kudo, and I know how to fix it."

"You can cure him?" Kaito asked in disbelief as hope started to rise within him. There was something wrong though, so he tried to squash that hope. Nothing was this easy, and Akako Koizumi never did something for nothing. But that hope wasn't listening to him. It had found a straw to grasp at and was holding on with all its might.

"No, I cannot restore the Child of Darknes Shinichi Kudo to his proper age," Akako said as the rising hope within Kaito instantly transformed into a flood of despair. Of course, Akako was only playing with him. That would explain everything about why she was here, but he didn't have time to waste. Turning to leave, the thief was frozen in place by her next words.

"But you have the power to reverse the effects of the Apotoxin you used on him," the witch said. As obvious confusion shown through Kaito's normally infallible poker face, Akako smirked. "You are the only one capable of returning those 1,000 years your Apotoxin stole, but you would not be able to help anyone else if they somehow managed to survive the same way Shinichi Kudo did. Would you like me to tell you how and why cure him before he kills you?"

"What's the price?" Kaito asked, knowing full well not to enter any kind of agreement blindly, especially not with someone like Akako Koizumi.

"Nothing you'll have to pay directly. So, do you want me to tell you or not?" Akako asked, and the thief remained silent for several minutes before nodding. The smile he received in return instantly made him want to reconsider, but it was already far too late for that.

"It will have to be done in two stages," Akako told him. "The first of which involves you surrendering to Shinichi Kudo your first kiss."

As a dark blush caused by those words spread across his cheeks, confusion bloomed inside Kaito once more. What did kissing have anything to do with restorative magic? And more importantly, how did she know he'd never been kissed? But he didn't say anything, just waited for her explanation to continue.

"I'm sure you don't know this, but you are a Halfling with sealed powers. Your mother is wholly human, but your father is a Child of Darkness: a magical being, a demi-god, part of a race that was born from the God of Darkness and the Unknown. You are a rare combination of both.

"But even among those rare few, you are special because your powers are completely sealed. And when those power of yours are unsealed and unleashed, the effects can be enormous and often affect those nearby. The releasing of those powers is like maturing from child to adult, so Shinichi Kudo could regain those 1,000 years he most recently lost.

"But the unsealing of your powers is no simple task. Because they were locked away by someone so close to you, the act that unlocks them must be intimate as well. There are few acts more intimate than one's first kiss. Furthermore, they must be unlocked by a magical being with great power as well. Toichi Kuroba is a powerful Child of Darkness, born of one of the oldest and most powerful families. Fortunately for you, Shinichi Kudo is a descendant of one such family as well.

"Now, the final aspect needed for this whole thing to work would be a deep connection, a bond between the two of you. And though you've only known him for a few hours, the two of you have that. It had already started to form at your little rooftop tryst, but the Apotoxin, itself, cemented that connection. Magic of such strength always leaves lasting marks.

"As he is kissing you, Shinichi Kudo must channel some of his own powers into you. That will unseal them, and while your body is overwhelmed with an onslaught of new powers, his body will grow up, most likely as quickly as it shrank. That will end stage one, but the effects are only temporary.

"Stage two is less complicated but will be much more daunting for you. There is a sort of physical right of passage for all Halflings that are of human parentage. Unless they go through this right of passage, the Halfling will grow old and die like any ordinary human. If they do, their body stops aging forevermore, and they become as immortal as any other magical being- never dying unless killed or they wish it upon themselves.

"This physical right of passage is having sex with a supernatural being, and you must have sex with Shinichi Kudo very soon after your powers are unleashed. The frame of time in which they will affect others is short and different for each race. I know naught how long it is for the Children of Darkeness, but he will. Once you two have joined, his transformation will be permanent as well. He will also stop aging- backward or forward. The Apotoxin would never again affect him."

She stopped talking, her explanations finished, and Kaito just stood there silently as his mind whirled about. Since the first revelation about him being half-demigod or something, his mind had shut itself down so it could absorb and process the needed information properly without Kaito freaking the heck out and possibly missing or losing something important in the midst of a panic attack.

"I still don't understand what you're getting by tell me all this" the phantom thief said, voicing the one question whose answer his mind was prepared to deal with.

"What I get is a front row seat to watch while you try to convince a pissed off demigod, one of the most powerful who ever lived, to have sex with you," Akako replied with a maniacal laugh. "Entertainment like that only crops up once every 25,000 years or so. I'm going to enjoy it thoroughly…until you get to the actual doing it part. No one wants to see that. And look! Here he comes now."

As Akako vanished, Kaito turned his head and saw that she had been telling the truth. An extremely livid-looking, child-sized Shinichi Kudo was flying toward him on black, feathery wings with murderous intent rolling off of him like a tsunami. Before Kaito could even think to react, small hands grabbed him and threw him high in the air.

He landed with a painful thud on the roof a warehouse he recognized as abandoned, and that thought filled him with relief until he once again saw the Child of Darkness, and dread replaced relief. Shinichi was zooming toward him, a fist crackling with dangerous, dark energy that the thief knew spelt trouble. Even though his entire body was screaming at him in physical agony, Kaito managed to pick himself up and move just in time to dodge the punch thrown at him. Instead, Shinichi's fist hit the warehouse roof, causing it to cave in, and the entire building was engulfed by that dark energy as it transformed into black fire. Seconds later, a solid, metal warehouse had become a giant pile of ash.

Kaito, through pure luck, had managed to jump off the roof and engage his glider in time to avoid getting caught up in the black fire. He drifted down to the ground below and had just barely steadied himself on the solid ground before small, strong hands grabbed him once again. This time, Shinichi threw him straight at a wall, and Kaito's body slammed into it with more force than it had the roof.

The pain was so horrible that the phantom thief had to fight to stay conscious, but he managed it as his body crumpled to the ground. And despite all the pain, Kaito knew he hadn't broken any bones, but Lady Luck could only help him so much. No broken bones was where his luck ran out. He couldn't move anymore, and Shinichi Kudo was coming after him once again, this time his entire body crackling with that dark energy Kaito now knew could turn him into dust in the wind.

Mind racing, the thief tried to think of some way to survive when he couldn't so much as lift a pinky when unbidden by his conscious thought, his mouth shouted the words, "I can cure you!"

Now, that was the stupidest thing he couldn't done, his mind berated itself. There was no way Shinichi would believe Kaito. He had no reason to and every reason to be completely pissed off. Bracing himself for the worst, Kaito's eyes ended up widening in shocked disbelief when Shinichi stopped in mid-air inches from him, lowered his fist of dangerously crackling energy, and spoke a single word, "Explain."

"Well, I'm a Halfling," Kaito said slowly, hesitantly. He tried to remember exactly what Akako had said so he could explain it properly, but as it turned out, he didn't need to.

"And your powers have been sealed since before the age you reached human puberty?" Shinichi asked in an oddly thoughtful voice.

"Yes," Kaito answered.

"And you are willing to go through the entire process?" Shinichi asked in a serious tone, looking straight into Kaito's eyes. Suddenly unable to speak, the thief gulped nervously and nodded.

"Good," Shinichi said and pulled Kaito into a harsh, bruising kiss.

A/N: Hello, and welcome to the end of Chapter 2 of Facing Destiny. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. If you're worried about seeing an almost non-consensual, scared Kaito sex scene in the future, don't be. I'm not into that stuff. That being said, this fic _is _rated M for a reason, they _will _be having sex. So, the sex scene y'all are going to read (if you continue to follow my fic) is sweet and involves mutual consent and desire. Hmm…was there anything else I wanted to say, just the usual

I love reviewers, but I do have a request. I would really love for someone to seriously critique my work. It doesn't have to stop at constructive criticism. I'd love for someone to really pick apart my work and tell me every little thing they hated, what needs to be improved, and what parts of my writing they liked best. Believe me when I say I love all reviews, and it's really nice to know people appreciate my work. However, I'm a far cry from being perfect, and there's always room to improve. Also, if I can get better, I can give better fan fiction to my readers. Anyway, thanks again for reading this fan fiction and hopefully you seriously considered my request.


	4. Chapter 3

Facing Destiny

Chapter 3

As his lips were captured in the harsh kiss, Kaito whimpered softly and instinctively tried to pull away, but Shinichi's strong hands held him in place. The thief hadn't expected his first kiss with the Child of Darkness to be gentle, but he hadn't thought it would be quite so violent either. He now recognized that as a vain hope since he could feel the full extent of rage simmering inside Shinichi through the kiss.

Minutes passed before the thief felt anything start to change within him. Quite suddenly, he could feel the tingling of magic in his lips as it passed from Shinichi into him, and he could feel it swirling inside of him. Moments later, Kaito somehow knew Shinichi's magic was looking for the seal to his powers, and a few moments after that, they had found and unlocked that seal.

His own powers burst forth, the magic healing him but, at the same time, shooting through him like a rocket of immeasurable pain. His body was in even worse agony as the magic flowed through him like liquid lava, burning as hot and violently as the very fires of Hell. With his newfound strength, Kaito broke away from the kiss as he screamed in pain and clutched his head in his hands, where the pain bloomed worst of all and was growing exponentially every second.

White, feathery wings burst from his back, tearing skin and fabric, splattering everything around him with blood, and causing a soul-piercing scream to erupt from his mouth. White lighting shot out from his body, but every bolt redirected itself back toward him, electrocuting him instead of sparking outward.

All of this continued for what seemed like an eternity and beyond. Each distinct pain combined with and multiplied the sensation of the others. It was excruciating. It was unbearable. And he had no idea if it was ever going to end.

As Kaito's body was wracked with pain, Shinichi's was changing as well. As quickly as he had shrunk, he grew once more. The pain he felt was only a fraction of what the Halfling was experiencing, and it barely even bothered him. He was still pretty pissed the thief had used the Apotoxin on him, but at least there was a way to reverse the effects this time. He didn't believe in coincidences, knew too much to believe in such things, but Shinichi was grateful that the Balance had decided to send him a Halfling with sealed powers.

Speaking of the Halfling, he turned his head to find out where the thief was and saw him writhing in pain. For a split second, Shinichi was cruelly happy to see the other was in such pain, but that feeling disappeared quickly enough and was replaced by twinges of guilt. The Halfling would not have been expecting such pain and, now, wouldn't be able to focus on anything else… That would make it rather difficult for the young man to participate in sexual activities. Well, there was only one thing for him to.

Scowling, Shinichi walked over to the currently incapacitated Halfling, placed a hand on him, and took his pain away. Slowly, the sensations of pain drained out of the thief's body and into Shinichi's. The Child of Darkness flinched as it entered him but showed no other outward signs of his newest discomfort. He was all too familiar with the pains of growing up and could deal with it until the permanent solution had been enacted.

"What was that?" Kaito asked with a groan as he slowly sat back up slightly unbalanced by his…wings and the shocks of lightning slowly dispersed around him.

"That was the pain experienced by every Child of Darkness when they go through puberty," Shinichi answered in a calm, even voice. "Imagine going through that every single second of every single day for 500 years. Then, imagine being forced to go through that a second, or a third time, and you might understand why I would be angry enough to kill."

"Yeah," Kaito agreed, not able to look the man straight in the eyes. "I didn't know what it was or even that it could become anything other than a pill. I'm sorry."

"It matters not," Shinichi replied, his voice still cold. "I was still subjected to its powers because of you."

"And that's why I'm willing to help you even though it means…" Kaito trailed off as he glanced at Shinichi and a dark blush stained his cheeks once more. Apprehensive as he was about giving his virginity to a guy he barely knew, the thief couldn't deny his attraction to Shinichi. Though they were similar physically, Shinichi exuded a raw sort of power that was both mysterious and dangerous. It made Kaito feel like a thirteen-year-old girl with a crush on a bad boy movie star, but the attraction was there. Too bad Shinichi probably hated his guts.

"Even though it means having sex and gaining eternal youth," Shinichi said in a dry voice full of mocking sarcasm. The thief wasn't fooling him. Humans would kill for immortality, and this one was getting it delivered on a silver platter. The Child of Darkness didn't believe in the hesitation the other was showing for even a second. "You're not giving up anything Halfling."

"Don't call me that!" Kaito shouted, bristling. "My name is Kaito Kuroba…not Halfling." The thief, of course, took issue with the implications of everything else Shinichi had said, but there were more important things to deal with at the moment than the full-blood's opinion of him. "The witch who told me how to reverse the Apotoxin magic also said we have a time limit…"

"Indeed we do," Shinichi replied, grabbing hold of Kaito's hand quite suddenly. "Come with me."

Stepping backwards, the Child of Darkness pulled Kaito with him through a pitch black doorway that seemed to have appear out of nowhere, summoned by Shinichi himself. They fell through nothingness for a few moments before landing with a soft plop on a bed – Shinichi's bed. He had brought them to his room in the Realm of Darkness, a place they were sure not to be disturbed. After all, an abandoned warehouse district was hardly a proper place for having sex.

Despite the fact that he could handle the Halfling's growing pains, the full-blooded Child of Darkness really didn't want to be subject to them any longer than absolutely necessary, so he gently pushed the thief down his back and crawled on top of him. With a single thought, Shinichi made their clothes vanish, leaving both of them completely naked because he saw no real reason to take things slowly. Due to the pain he was in, Shinichi wasn't going to be able to enjoy the sex even if he could be an active participant in it. However when he leaned down captured Kaito's lips in a kiss, it was slow and languid, because he knew from experience that this would go much smoother if he was somewhat gentle. No matter how eager they were for sex, virgins always were a little bit nervous.

For his part, Kaito felt instantly vulnerable when his clothes disappeared without a trace, and his entire body immediately tensed up. But when Shinichi kissed him in a soothing yet passionate manner, his body started to relax a little now that the man had decided to be gentle with him. Soon, he felt Shinichi nibbling on his bottom lips in a bid for entrance, and Kaito parted his lips in welcome. As their tongues entwined in an age-old battle, Kaito could feel his body start react, sensations of pleasurable tingles began running through his body and straight to his groin.

A few minutes passed before Shinichi pulled away and left Kaito gasping for air as the Child of Darkness trailed kisses along Kaito's chin and down his neck until Shinichi reached the sensitive juncture near his shoulder. Kaito shivered in pleasure as Shinichi's talented mouth went to work: nibbling, sucking, licking, and biting. Then, his hands launched into action as well. One hand went to tease Kaito's left nipple while the other slid down between their bodies until it reached his most intimate area.

Kaito gasped when Shinichi began stroking his hardening erection, but those gasps quickly turned to moans of pleasure as the man provided him with more pleasure than he'd ever known. The thief didn't know how, but Shinichi's sinfully skillful hands had him aching with need seconds after the first touch. White, hot bursts of pleasure shot through him with every stroke, and Kaito couldn't help but think of what they were going to do next.

Not completely ignorant about sex between two men, he knew where Shinichi's fingers would soon penetrate him. But as he imagined those talented digits entering him, his mind shut down. Panic flowed through him. He wasn't ready for this, but Shinichi was continuing his ministrations, completely unaware of the thief's internal struggle. And despite his mental misgivings, Kaito's body was still reacting. So much so that he climaxed while crying out in a terrified tone, "No! No! No! No! No! No! Please no!"

When Shinichi heard those words, he was so shocked that he stopped everything he was doing and pulled away from Kaito. Why would the Halfling object to cumming? But as he looked into Kaito's eyes, he quickly realized that wasn't the reason the younger male was suddenly resisting. The thief's eyes were alight with untold panic and fear. Obviously, he wasn't ready to go all the way, and when that realization hit Shinichi, many followed, making him wince at his own stupidity.

"I'm sorry," Kaito half-whispered, half-cried out. "I'm not ready for this yet. I can't do this right now. I know it's selfish to ask, but I'm begging you, please give me a little more time." Tears streamed down his face, and he couldn't meet Shinichi's gaze. But all that did was cause fresh tidal waves of guilt to crash through the detective.

"It's okay," Shinichi said, gathering the crying Kaito into his arms, into what he hoped was a comforting hold. And there was nothing sexual about the contact as he was already regretting his rash decision made in anger. "We don't have to do this right away. I'm the one who should be sorry."

Why hadn't he realized it sooner? It was extremely rare for a human male of Kaito's age to be a virgin and downright unheard of for one not to have ever been kissed. Humans started mating as soon as their bodies physically matured because of their inherited instinctual fear of knowing that they were on the bottom of the food chain. As a race, they searched for safety in numbers, using procreation as a means to accomplish this task, but Kaito obviously wasn't like that. With his powers sealed, the human half of him should have been driven by that instinctual fear. Somehow, though, the thief hadn't succumbed to it. And the only thing that could have stopped that would be Kaito seeing sex as something much more meaningful than mere physical pleasure.

Shinichi had known all this, had subconsciously figured it out right away. However in his haste to reverse the effects of Apotoxin, in his all-consuming rage, and in the midst of taking the brunt of Kaito's unrelenting pain, he had disregarded all of that. Angry at himself, Shinichi spoke the words that promised Kaito more time to mentally prepare and promised him several more days of nonstop, excruciating pain. But Shinichi had prepared himself to deal with it. After all, he was the one who had made the decision transfer Kaito's pain into his own body, and honestly, he felt like he deserved some sort of punishment for what he had just almost done.

As Shinichi held Kaito, the young thief shivered in his arms, and tears continued rolling down his cheeks. Unable to stop himself, Kaito reached his arms around Shinichi's torso, clinging to his only source of comfort, and he buried his head in the man's shoulder. Shinichi moved his hand to Kaito's head and began rubbing it gently. They remained like that until the thief's cries had quieted, and he had calmed down enough to pull away from the embrace on his own. But, still, he chose to remain in Shinichi's lap.

Shinichi remained quiet as he watched Kaito slowly, finally raised his indigo-colored eyes to meet Shinichi's own blue orbs. Silence reigned for several moments until the thief spoke, and when he finally did, the words that came out of his mouth were the last ones Shinichi would have ever expected.

"Thank you," Kaito said in a tone full of fervent gratitude.

"Why are you thanking me?" Shinichi asked incredulously, his eyes widening in confusion.

"Because you stopped when you didn't have to," Kaito answered. "You comforted me, and despite the fact that it's your fate that hangs in the balance, you're giving me time."

"Not much though," Shinichi commented in an apologetic tone, absentmindedly running his hand through the Halfling's wildly spiky yet incredibly soft hair. "You will have little more than a week to get comfortable with the idea. Halflings mature in three times three, in other words nine, days. Three days for your powers to fully unlock. Three days for your body to fully absorb these powers. Three days for your power to further mature. It matters not exactly when we have sex. Regardless, it will still take your body nine days to finish maturing, and I will stop aging forevermore. However, we must have sex before midnight on the ninth day, or I will turn back into a child again."

"Time is time," Kaito replied with a surprisingly cheerful smile. "Nine days is plenty of time to get to know you better, and I already like what I do know."

"What could you possible know about me?" Shinichi asked.

"That you are kind," Kaito said instantly. "You have every right to be angry with me and hate me, but I know you aren't feeling any of that. Plus, you comforted me instead of just pushing me away. I can feel that you're a person with compassion for others. You obviously have great power, but you haven't been corrupted by it. You could have easily taken what you need from me; I couldn't have stopped you. Instead, you're waiting.

"I also know that you're incredibly smart, probably more so than I can imagine since not only did you know about me and my unsavory friends but the way to reverse the Apotoxin effects, and I have feeling that that isn't exactly common knowledge even among magical beings. And I know that despite all the pain and suffering I can sense you've gone through, you're still a good person. I may not know much, but I know enough to want to more."

"You're a damn empath, aren't you?" Shinichi sighed at the knowledge that, of course, Kaito had the one power he hated most of all, even more than mindreading. After all, that was the only feasible explanation for the teenager being able to sense so much about someone who was, essentially, a complete stranger. And the Child of Darkness hated the power of sensing emotions more than any other because while thoughts could lie, emotions always revealed the truth. Although, Shinichi supposed he could find consolation in the fact that Kaito would not be able to sense the extreme physical pain he was in; that was something he really didn't need the halfing to know about. "I'm not as great as you seem to think I am, but yeah, let's get to know each other. We won't have much else to do."

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked.

"I'll tell you later," Shinichi said. "But now, it's late, and we both need our rest. Just tell me one thing before you fall asleep. What does sex mean to you? For a human, you're extraordinarily innocent, and even more rare, you're not chomping at the bit for any opportunity to join with another person. You were truly scared to continue on, and I don't understand that."

"It's nothing amazing," Kaito commented, blushing darkly again. It was a look that Shinichi was quickly growing to like seeing on the Halfling's face, and that was dangerous. "I'm just a total romantic, thinking that you should only kiss and stuff with people you really love. I've never fallen in love with anyone before, so I'd never done any of that, never wanted to."

"I'm sorry to take that away from you," Shinichi said softly. "I won't be falling in love with you."

"That's okay," Kaito replied, though his tone was slightly regretful "I knew what I was giving up when I offered it. I'm a little sad to, but I don't regret. And nine days might not be enough time to fall in love, but you should at least care about me by then."

"I already care about you," Shinichi said before he could stop himself.

"See, we've already made progress," Kaito responded with another brilliant smile. "Now, let's go to bed. Good night, Tantei-kun."

Then, he surprised Shinichi with a goodnight kiss on the cheek before crawling under the covers and getting comfortable. The Child of Darkness stared at Kaito dumbfounded for several minutes until a soft smile came unbidden to his face. The thief was so very different from anyone he'd ever met. Crawling under the covers himself, Shinichi settled in and gave into a sudden uncharacteristic urge to cuddle. As he pulled Kaito into his arms, the Halfling snuggled closer. And that night, Shinichi did something fair impossible. During those first two 500 year spans of the growing-pain hell that Children of Darkness called puberty, he had never been able to sleep in more than intermittent spurts that lasted thirty minutes at best. But that night, he drifted off into a more contented sleep than ever before in his long life, despite the reality that he was still carrying Kaito's pain.

A/N: Hello Loyal Readers and welcome to THE END OF THE WORLD! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *cough hack cough cough* But no, in all seriousness, welcome to the end of Chapter 3 of Facing Destiny. I hope y'all enjoyed it. And today, I thought I'd take some time to address a few of the comments in the reviews.

1) The Children of Darkness have several powers, as now has been somewhat revealed, and the powers each Child of Darkness has depends partially upon which family it comes from. They also have their own individual powers, as random and varied as can be. Both the Kudo and Kuroba familis have wings, so obviously, they can fly. Since they're also of the original "founding" families, the members of the Kudo and Kuroba families are also gifted with powers stronger beyond that of most of the other Children of Darkness. One of those powers is the lightning-like energy that can reduce a giant metal warehouse to a pile of ash instantly. There are others that will be revealed later.

As, revealed in this chapter, Kaito's individual power is empathy, in other words, the power to read the emotions of others. In later chapters, it is developed further, but for now, that's all he can do. As for Shinichi, his individual power can be summed up in one word, and I'm wondering if any of you wonderful readers can guess what that is.

2) Yes, this story will be going beyond just the romance aspect. You will see more with the Manipulators, and all the other races for that matter. However, this fanfiction is set up in such a way that all of those interactions must come after they have sex for the first time. So, just hang in there for a few more chapters…even though I can't truly call what I'm currently writing romance when the sex is currently no more than a means to completely cure Shinichi.

3) No promises can be made on regular updates. As much as I would love to be able to do that, my muse is fickle, and my life is rather hectic. Hell, it's been a miracle that I've been able to update a single chapter of any fanfiction each week for the last month and a half or so. So, the most I can do is promise to do the best I can to keep updating in a semi-timely manner.

With that said, I hope to see you in the future, and the usual

I love reviewers, but I do have a request. I would really love for someone to seriously critique my work. It doesn't have to stop at constructive criticism. I'd love for someone to really pick apart my work and tell me every little thing they hated, what needs to be improved, and what parts of my writing they liked best. Believe me when I say I love all reviews, and it's really nice to know people appreciate my work. However, I'm a far cry from being perfect, and there's always room to improve. Also, if I can get better, I can give better fan fiction to my readers. Anyway, thanks again for reading this fan fiction and hopefully you seriously considered my request.


	5. Chapter 4

Facing Destiny

Chapter 4

When Kaito next awoke, he felt an extremely odd combination of entirely energetic and absolutely exhausted. The sensations seemed separate in his body, but he couldn't identify where one ended and the other began. Maybe it was part of the change, but he wouldn't know. The one who would was still sleeping soundly next to him, and he looked surprisingly relaxed while doing so. For some reason, Kaito had thought Shinichi would look more guarded when sleeping, and he definitely had not thought he would find the detective's unguarded expression so cute or endearing.

Oh…he had it bad. Kaito had always known he was different in almost every way from other people. Why should his falling in love be any different? Of course, he had fallen almost at first sight. As Conan Edogawa, the detective had been captivating, but as Shinichi Kudo, the man was downright alluring. The thief knew himself well enough to know that he would not have been quite so accepting of what it would to take to cure Shinichi if he wasn't already in love with him. Oh, he would have done it anyway, what with his no one get hurts rule, his fault in the shrinking, and the combination of his duty and his desire to help people. But now, his heart felt like it was pad-locked in an impenetrable steel box that was on a boat, which was traveling through raging rapids and headed toward the largest, most powerful waterfall in the world.

His love was already doomed to failure and his heart to shattering into a million pieces. Shinichi had said he wouldn't fall in love, making it quite clear he didn't want to and, thus, pretty much guaranteeing he wouldn't. The only reason he'd brought Kaito here was for sex, and the sex was only for his permanent adult body, well as adult as seemingly seventeen years old could be. Once they'd done it, Shinichi would probably take Kaito home so they could each get back to their respective lives.

A life Kaito would have to start living in permanent disguise if he wanted to continue seeming at least somewhat normal. He was going to be seventeen forever! How could he possibly live on like nothing had ever happened without going crazy? And he couldn't keep something like this from his mother. How was he supposed to tell her? Not to mention, everybody he knew and loved would be dead in a few decades while he lived on for centuries? Millennia? Eons and eras?

His mind whirled around with the unpleasant possibilities, and he wanted it to stop. He didn't like feeling like this; it wasn't like him. Maybe it had to do with the odd state of his body. Maybe he just needed chocolate. That's it. He just needed some chocolate, and most people's kitchens usually held some form of chocolate in it: ice cream, cake, cookies, cereal, hot cocoa. He would take whatever he could get.

Since he didn't really want to wake Shinichi and figured he could find the kitchen on his own, Kaito got up out of bed only to find that he was still naked as the day he was born. Two seconds after that realization, a knock came from the other side of the door, and the person began opening it without waiting for an answer. Squeaking in surprise, Kaito dove back into the bed, racing to cover himself with the sheets. Next to him, Shinichi had been awoken by Kaito's actions, and the thief watched as his detective sat up slowly, blinking blearily and flinching slightly.

"Odd morning, isn't it?" the man in the doorway said. He had a striking resemblance to Shinichi, so it was probably his father, but Kaito really wasn't sure whom the man was addressing.

"Indeed it is, Tou-san," Shinichi replied, confirming Kaito's suspicions about their relation to each other. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"I wanted to make sure you got home safe from the Kid heist last night. Though, I must admit, I expected to find you in here alone," the man commented. "Do I want to know what my best friend's son is doing naked in your bed?"

"Growing up," Shinichi answered simply.

"Why did you unseal his powers?" his father asked with a quick, interested glance in Kaito's direction.

"Long story you'll get the details of later," Shinichi responded with a yawn.

"Fine," the the man said. "But are you going to be alright?"

"It's only nine days," Shinichi said as his body moved in a way that looked like an odd sort of spasmed combination between a shrug and cringe. "I'll survive."

"He'll be staying for a while then," the man spoke a statement, not a question. It was so similar to the way Shinichi spoke that Kaito was thrown for a loop. "I'll contact his mother to let her know her son is alright."

"You can contact Kaa-san?" Kaito asked as an explosion of relief rippled through him. "Can I speak with her?"

"Yes, I can contact her," the man answered focusing all his attention on the teen. "Your father set it up about twenty-five years ago in case something happened to him. Unfortunately, you cannot speak with her now, but I daresay you will be able to soon enough. Shinichi will explain." And with that said, the man left, shutting the door behind him.

"Explain what?" Kaito asked instantly, turning to stare at the detective next to him. "Why can't I talk to my mother?"

"It's not that you can't talk to your mother," Shinichi said placatingly, trying to be as delicate as possible. "So much as you can't leave this room until we've had sex…I did tell you we wouldn't have much to do."

"And why can't I leave?" the thief asked, suddenly very angry. It made sense, though; one of things he prized most was his freedom. "It's not as though I'm going to run off. The least you could do is confine me to the house instead of just the bedroom. Is that why I'm still naked? Another precaution to deter me from leaving?"

"That's exactly it," Shinichi growled, cutting off Kaito's rant. Rolling over on top of the teen, the detective pinned Kaito on his back. Kaito could feel annoyance, frustration, and anger boiling inside Shinichi, and it made absolutely no sense. Kaito was the one with real cause to be angry in this situation.

"I knew you would be too embarrassed to leave without clothes, and I was too tired and distracted last night to properly explain why you have to stay here. Listen to me carefully. With your powers sealed, none could find you, but now that they have been released, you are easily tracked. This room is the one place in the universe where I have complete sovereignty. No one can enter without my permission; the same does not hold true for the rest of this house. To keep you away from those who would seek you, this is the best place to stay."

"Why do I need to even hide?" Kaito growled back with fiercely defiant eyes that sent an odd shiver down the detective's spine.

"To keep you safe," Shinichi replied. "Your father has been hunted for the last twenty-five years by this realm's version of the police. It is not only forbidden, but also very illegal, for a Child of Darkness to fall for and mate with a human. And until you are fully immortal, you are subject to the laws that make your very existence illegal. I would keep you safe, and that is why you cannot leave."

"Illegal?" Kaito asked, suddenly turning white as a sheet. "Illegal? My being alive is illegal?!" The thief, who had remained calmer than anyone could have ever expected in this series of events thus far, was starting to panic. It was so obvious that Shinichi was actually a bit worried. Katio wasn't the type to be so open. Not to mention, panicking really wouldn't help this situation any. Shinichi needed the Halfling to be calm and thoughtful, not twitchy and ready to bolt.

"Stay calm," Shinichi said, rolling them over again so that Kaito was on top of him this time. Threading one hand through Kaito's hair, he angled the thief's head so that they would be looking straight into each other's eyes. "It's okay. Stay calm."

"Of course it's okay," Kaito commented in a dry tone yet oddly high-pitched voice. "Every thing is absolutely spiffing. Just yesterday, I was human and at my normal for me night job of a Kaitou Kid heist. At the heist, I meet a high school detective who somehow knows almost everything about Kid and his enemies but has never actually been to a single heist. Then, this detective shrinks and I take him home, where I find out that not only do magical beings exist but also that my detective is one.

"Then, I find out that real magic I never even touched somehow mixed with my tricks and ended up being the cause of said shrinking. Next, I discover I'm half-magical whatever and that the only way to reverse this shrinking magic is to kiss and have sex with someone who is trying to kill me. We kiss, he grows back up, and I almost lose my virginity in a rush of someone's anger. And best of all, I get to live forever while everyone I know and love will die in a few decades.

"I wake up the next morning, and I told I'm trapped in a bedroom for nine days because my very existence is illegal. Oh yes, everything's absolutely amazing. Great really. Why shouldn't I be calm?"

As tears unexpectedly gathered in Kaito's eyes, Shinichi felt another wave of guilt consume him. Logically, he knew that most of the thief's current situation wasn't really his fault, but his heart, the heart that he could hide but wouldn't harden no matter how many shields he put up, didn't work based on logic. Pulling Kaito into his arms hoping to comfort him once more, Shinichi allowed the Halfling to curl up against his chest.

"I'm sorry," the detective said as he rubbed one of his hands in soothing circles on Kaito's back. "I wasn't thinking when I first heard that we could reverse the Apotoxin's effects. It was agonizing to think of going through puberty for a third time. And anger is easier to deal with than desperation. I'm sorry I scared you. I promise you that you have no reason to be afraid anymore. So long as you are with me, I will protect you using whatever means necessary."

At those words, Kaito was starting to calm down, and he felt no need to ask who would protect him from his detective. The thief somehow knew he could trust the Child of Darkness. As for the rest of it, it was just a reality he would have to deal with. At least, he wasn't alone and had someone he knew he could trust to help him….for now.

Pulling himself away from Shinichi's embrace, the Halfling wiped his tears and offered a small smile that would have come out as a grimace on the face of anyone less in control of his expressions than Kaito. Then, he settled himself into a more stable sitting position and said, "We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

"Indeed we do," Shinchi replied. "What is foremost on your mind?"

"How it came to be that my existence is illegal is pretty high up there," Kaito commented dryly. "It's just a tad disconcerting, and quite oddly, I find that I enjoy living."

"Your existence is illegal because people are content to be stupid and lazy," Shinichi growled, displaying more of that mystifying anger from before when Kaito had demanded to know why he was stuck in the room. It was good in a way, though, because he now knew that Shinichi had not been angry with him.

"We have an eternity of time at our fingertips, but most Children of Darkness waste their lives away doing absolutely nothing. That is why the laws that call for the execution of you and your father even exist.

"There was a time, billions upon billions upon billions of year ago, when Children of Darkness and humans lived together, and Halflings weren't nearly so rare as they are now. But that changed when the two races were forced apart. Up until that point, such unions were not a problem, because even though the human mates died, the Children of Darkness still had their Halfling offspring to love.

"That changed when the races were split. Humans and Children of Darkness had less contact, and the Halflings born to human mothers started to grow old and die because they never had the chance to join with a magical being. Soon after, several Children of Darkness wished themselves dead. Hundreds died, and so, the law was put in place that Children of Darkness are forbidden to fall in love and mate with humans. Our race could not afford the loss, especially not back then.

"So, you see the stupidity don't you? The law was created to preserve life, but the rule against such unions proved a sufficient discouragement, thus no official punishment was ever decided. Millions of years passed, and the people forgot why it was forbidden. Someone in the government decided it was bad to have laws with no punishment, and the death penalty was decided upon.

"And now, the mere act of having sex with a human will cost a Child of Darkness their life, forget falling in love or long-term mating. A Halfling's existence is illegal but partially untouchable. In the Human Realm, a Halfling is free to live their entire human-length life without interference. In the Realm of Darkness, they are to be left alone if they have decided to live an immortal life. But the state which you are in now, living in the Realm of Darkness but not yet immortal, leaves you vulnerable to sentencing.

"And all of this just because the Council was, and still is filled with members who, among other things, can't be bothered to peruse the Archives and actually learn the history of our people."

"Okay," Kaito replied with a bright yet rueful smile. "I won't be leaving your room anytime soon. Can I have my clothes back now?"

For the first time, Kaito watched as red bloomed across his detective's cheeks, and Shinichi reached up in the air as though to grab something. As he pulled his arm back down, clothes appeared in his hand, seemingly out of nowhere, and Shinichi held them out toward Kaito. Unable to look the Halfling in the eye, Shinichi said, "Sorry, I forgot. You can use these. They're mine, but we are pretty similar in build. As for the Kid suit, you'll have to go through that yourself later. I shudder to think about trying to quickly handle something both you and your father had access to."

"Thanks," Kaito responded as he tried to keep from laughing at the Child of Darkness's last words. He knew well the feeling of being caught unawares by a cleverly concealed trick in his father's belongings. "Uh, is there another safe place I can get dressed?"

"Bathroom's through that door," Shinichi commented as he pointed and forced himself to keep his eyes on the floor, choosing not to comment on the fact that he'd already seen and felt the whole of Kaito's naked body several times.

The Halfling scurried off, and the Child of Darkness sank into the bed, wishing Kaito had not awoken so early. Though he was used to pain and had voluntarily shouldered the agony of Kaito's puberty, Shinichi had hoped for a few more hours of the blissful oblivion that unconsciousness provided. The worst of it was still yet to come, and it would only get harder to hide the truth from Kaito as his psychic powers developed further.

When the thief returned a few minutes later, he found a clothed Shinichi lying on the bed with his eyes squeezed shut and one hand resting on his forehead. More than that, he could feel inner turmoil and extreme concern coming from the Child of Darkness. Worried, Kaito silently walked over and placed a gentle hand on Shinichi's shoulder. His detective went rigid for a moment before relaxing once more, and the thief said, "Tantei-kun, what's wrong?"

"You mean other than that stupid nickname?" Shinichi ground out more harshly than he meant to, and as he realized what he had done, he half-hoped the harsh tone would distract Kaito from his current feelings. "I think I preferred Meitantei-san."

"Well," Kaito answered with a Kid smirk as he sat down on the bed. "You're still a great detective, but for a while, you were a chibi tantei, so Tantei-kun. Let's call it a fond reminder of my first kiss."

"Or a punishment," Shinichi grumbled, his eyes still shut tight.

"Whatever you want to call it," Kaito said. "I know that's not what's really bothering you. It's fine if you don't want to talk about it; it's just that your mood changed rather suddenly."

"I'm fine," Shinichi replied. "It's just that I have to go out on an errand and leave you here alone. I shouldn't be gone long, but your powers are going to make themselves known soon and without a proper teacher around, you can very easily hurt yourself."

"I'm sure I can survive for a short while," Kaito commented brightly. "I won't leave, and I can call your father for help if I start feeling overwhelmed, right?"

"You could," the Child of Darkness sighed as he slowly rose off the bed. "I still wish I didn't have to leave you, but this is something I must do. Make sure to be careful, and don't fight the powers if they make themselves known to you. Until I get back, the safest thing for you to do is just let them go wild because trying to hold them back when you don't know how to control them will hurt you. You don't need worry about messing stuff up or breaking things, because there is nothing I own that cannot be fixed or replaced. Focus on keeping yourself safe, okay?"

"Okay," Kaito replied unsure of how else to respond to that, especially when he could feel more than hear the honesty behind those words with his new powers. And as the detective left the room, the thief bid him farewell with no more than a silent wave.

Once the door shut behind him, Shinichi let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the door. He actually contemplated sleeping elsewhere for a few moments, but that idea was quickly thrown away. For one, it wouldn't be safe, and he really shouldn't take longer than necessary to return to Kaito. He knew from experience that the quicker he finished his errand, the less suspicious those who watched him would be and the longer it would take them to figure out what was going on. With that thought, he pushed himself away from the door, opened up a passageway to another realm, and stepped through it to the Realm of Changers.

Seconds after he stepped foot into the Realm of Changers, he was surrounded by a force with a representative of almost all races of changers: lycanthropes, shape-shifters, size-shifters, and many others. Although they were obviously a first-strike force meant to deal with intruders, Shinichi did not panic. Quite oppositely, his eyes roamed the crowd until they landed on one of the lycanthropes, one who changed into a leopard come full moon, and smiled at her as he waved. An obvious wave of confusion swept through the crowd, and all but a few of the strike force tensed like they were the ones being cornered.

"Kudo of the Darkness," the female leopard lycanthrope said in a serious yet warm tone. "You are most welcome here in the Realm of Changers. Although, I must say, you usually choose your place of entrance far more wisely. There are very few in this area who know you well."

"I usually do pick better destinations," Shinichi agreed as he approached her, now without encountering any interference. With the knowledge that one of their kin welcomed him, the other Changers were no longer wary of him. It was the realm in which there was the deepest, general trust between all the creatures of the realm. "Unfortunately, I'm not really at the top of my game at the moment. Meela of the Changers, I am in need of your help. I have need of shifters who are brave enough to travel to other realms, have the power to transform their appearance to look exactly like me, and have the capability to keep their bloodlust and distrust of all other races in check."

"That's a tall order," Meela replied as she began walking and motioned him to follow. As they headed to the center of the forest, she made a complicated hand motioned that the Child of Darkness recognized as a dismissal, and the rest of the strike force disappeared. "If not for your last requirement, we could employ any number of animal-based shifters. They're never cowards, and they can choose pretty much any human appearance they wish. And as you are more than aware, most human-based shifters are too vain to alter their appearance entirely unless it is to change into a nonhuman shape. I know of only one shifter who meets all three requirements. Hopefully, he can lead us to others."

"Thank you," Shinichi said simply before falling silent. The continued walking without conversing for several miles. When the trees and shrubbery started thinning and they were coming up on a clearing, Meela stopped short, and Shinichi followed suit. The shifter they were looking for was inside the clearing, but it was his own domain of complete sovereignthy. The detective could not enter until invited, and even if he could, popping in out of nowhere was just plain rude.

"Dick!" Meela shouted at the top of her lungs, earning a startled, reproachful look from Shinichi. "We need your help!"

"Come in Meela, a voice shouted from inside the clearing. "Your odd-smelling and very obviously not from this realm friend may enter as well."

"Thank you," Shinichi said as he walked through the trees into the clearing and saw a tall, blonde-haired man who was chuckling as he watched a half-dressed female run for the cover of the trees. Dick, himself, was naked as the day he was born, but unlike the female, he had no problem with his nudity.

"What can I help you with young one?" Dick asked as he stretched out like a cat in the warm sunlight. "I've heard much about you, a rare breed of creature that can wander through all the known realms and not be mauled to death on sight. I know you have a fair few friends in the realm, so I'm curious to know what you specifically need me for."

"Well, I'm seeking the help some creatures with certain characteristics, and you are the only one whom Meela knows to fit the bill," Shinich answered as he started to explain what he needed and his hope that there was more than one person in the Realm of Shifters who would be able and willing to help him.

"I know several such creatures," Dick told him. "But very few are willing to risk life and limb for those they do not know, especially for people not of this realm. I may be able to convince three or four others, but you are promised my assistance only one condition. Before I send my friends traversing through life-threatening quests, you will tell me the reason you are in need of our help."

Shinich tensed at those words, not because they were unreasonable but because he had truly hoped not to have to tell anyone. Very few knew of his reaction to Apotoxin, even among those he trusted with the knowledge of his fight against the Manipulators, and now, to get the help he needed, he would have to reveal that and more to a complete stranger. That made him extremely uncomfortable, but on the other hand, he had a strange feeling that Dick would make a most important ally in the future. Still, there was only one way to make him even start to feel comfortable with giving the human-based changer the information he demanded.

"On your word as a Changer, on the very soul of your magic," Shinichi commanded. "Promise you will reveal this to no one else."

Next to him, Shinichi heard Meela gasp in shock, but that did not surprise him. Although he was not in much of a position to insist on anything, much less the most powerful promise a Changer could make, the Child of Darkness would not take back his words. However, Dick did not seem angry, or even the least bit put off, by the stipulation. Rather, he seemed almost impressed by it for some inexplicable reason.

"You have my word as a Changer, on the very soul of my magic," Dick said, speaking the words the take away all of his powers and leave him as weak as an average human if he broke the promise in them. "That unless you give me leave to do such a thing, I will never repeat the secrets that you are about to share with me to another soul, living or dead."

Meela gasped in shock again, but this time, she did not hold her tongue. She had been silent afore because this was between the two men bartering and she had not truly believed Dick would agree. What was he thinking?! She trusted Shinichi with her life, but even she wouldn't make such a promise. And these two didn't even know each other! Not to mention, Dick had just opened himself up to a possible future with the worst existence imaginable. If he broke the promise, he would lose his powers but still be immortal. She'd seen Changers in such a situation before, and the ones who remained forever trapped in their private domains for fear of ever venturing outside were the lucky ones.

"Dick, what is wrong with you making such a promise?" Meela demanded furiously. "What if someone catches you and tortures you for information or slips you a truth potion? And Shinichi, how could you make such a demand? I thought you were better than that!"

"Because this has to stay a secret," Shinichi said, wincing at the anger he heard in her tone. He hoped this wouldn't make her see him in a different light, but with the next words he was about to say, he wasn't going to hope her favor for him remain unchanged. "And on that note, I must request you leave."

"YOU WHAT?! Meela shouted, getting ready to start on an honest to goodness tirade. After everything she'd done for him, sacrificed for him through the years, he didn't trust her? Oh, he was going to pay for this!

"Meela," Dick interrupted before she could get started. "Do not make me force you leave my home."

"Fine," the leopard lycanthrope said with a huff, and she turned around and stomped out of the clearing.

As soon as she was out of sight, Dick sat back down on the ground, gestured for Shinichi to do the same, and said, "So, what's so important that I'm risking much more than my life for a complete stranger and what do you need me to do?"

A/N: Hello and welcome to the end of Chapter 4 of Facing Destiny! *throws confetti everywhere and dances around* Again, I apologize for the long wait, but I had a lot of trouble deciding just how much interaction between Shinichi and Dick to show at the end of this chapter. Interaction I said would come later, but well, my characters almost always act in ways not according to plan, don't they? Anyway, the long, harrowing decision-making process brought what you see now (amazing what sort of fanfiction decisions one can make when one is supposed be writing a ten-page paper for English class). Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Also, funny little story about Dick's name. I was writing this new chapter, and I was just staring at the page, stopped short, because I couldn't decide on a name. A friend suggested Dick, and I saw it as an amusing placeholder for the time being. However, as I wrote and discovered more about this new character I was creating, it occurred to me how perfect the name was, and I actually became really attached to said name. So, Dick will forever more be known by the name decided on a lark. XD

And as always…

I love reviewers, but I do have a request. I would really love for someone to seriously critique my work. It doesn't have to stop at constructive criticism. I'd love for someone to really pick apart my work and tell me every little thing they hated, what needs to be improved, and what parts of my writing they liked best. Believe me when I say I love all reviews, and it's really nice to know people appreciate my work. However, I'm a far cry from being perfect, and there's always room to improve. Also, if I can get better, I can give better fan fiction to my readers. Anyway, thanks again for reading this fan fiction and hopefully you seriously considered my request.


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